


And I Long to be Near You

by Fanofthebastillelife



Category: Bastille (Band)
Genre: Fluf, Listen to Death With Dignity whilst listening, Mild Dyle, dyle - Freeform
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-07-19
Updated: 2018-07-19
Packaged: 2019-06-13 01:52:20
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,881
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/15353607
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Fanofthebastillelife/pseuds/Fanofthebastillelife





	And I Long to be Near You

“There is absolutely no way on God’s Earth are you skateboarding right now.”

The sun is setting over the secondary school as the evening slowly claims the city, sending a golden pink haze over the city. Dan and Kyle are lounging around by the stairs next to the maths block. They connect to the car park and allow easy exits for both teachers and students. Unlike his friend who is just sitting on the steps with his legs out in front of him, Kyle is moving around the car park on his skateboard, something Dan has never seen him use before.

“You’ve been my friend for _this long_ and you didn’t know I like skateboarding?” The taller boy simply glances at Dan and gracefully huffs, shaking his head rather dramatically. “Despicable, Daniel. Disgusting. Besides, the existence of God is a questionable and controversial subject, so, I could, in fact, be skateboarding on Satan’s Earth and nobody would know. Amazing, isn’t it?”

“Fuck off with your philosophical bollocks,” Dan spits back, trying to shake his head to clear his mind of everything Kyle has just said. “Shurrup, anyway. I’ve never seen you skateboard and you sure as Hell haven’t mentioned it to me.”

Sometimes, Kyle likes to go on these little philosophical rants about religion and general stuff like that. He has some good points, sometimes, but the other times it just sounds like babbling nonsense. There’s more in his brain than he lets on, though.

“People don’t know things if you don’t tell them.”

Kyle cocks an eyebrow at his best friend and tilts the board so it comes to a scraping halt in front of him. Dan suddenly feels a little bit nervous. “You and I both know that’s not true. I know many things that you have never told me.”

It’s the late Summer for England, so it’s still pretty warm, although sometimes chilly winds break the normal heat. The two weeks they had off together (they have six, but Dan was on holiday for the other four) they spent exploring the local woodland; sometimes ankle deep in small, muddy ditches and watching the birds sing. At points, they would travel reasonably far (well, around three miles for the two sixteen-year-olds) and camp out somewhere random, then come back the next day.

The older of the boys stumbles as he gets a sickening flash through him, a leaf flying past his feet. “Uh, like, like what?” He questions with a stuttering voice, trying to act as casual as possible.

Kyle just smirks as he kicks the board into his pal, them back down on the floor and then jumps on them again, moving pieces of stone and dirt out of the way as he moves. Dan is gripping the concrete step so hard that his knuckles turn white.

“Like all those magazines under your mattress!”

He’s joking- at least, Kyle thinks he is. Dan has hidden those magazines damn well, if you ask him. That way his mum and dad can never stumble across them, and _God would they kill him._

“Very funny,” he laughs nervously and rolls his eyes. “So, when did you start skating? Cause you sure as Hell didn’t last year.”

Everything feels very cliché, really. In a weird way, it feels like some soppy film two best friend hanging out with each other with nothing better to do. It feels amazing.

“Last Summer. _Someone_ ditched me all Summer to go on holiday so I was stuck spending the Summer with the oldest Simmons brother down at the skate park.”

Dan smiles to himself- he adores the way that Kyle jokes around with him, though he’s never serious about it. They have that sort of relationship- even when other people think they are at each other’s necks arguing, the pair just burst into laughter straight after.

“Don’t act like I straight up ditched you!” He argues back with a laugh, watching as Kyle does something with his feet and the board jumps up and flips. From his vague memory with Tony Hawk games that he used to challenge Kyle with, Dan thinks it might be called an Ollie but he’s not entirely sure.

“You did ditch me! You could have stayed here with your best friend in the entire world but _noooo! Danny wanted to on holiday!”_

“You’re just salty that you didn’t get to come.”

“Well, that may be true, but-”

“But my mum wanted me to go and see my family in South Africa, and tell them how I, and I quote, ‘find school so amazing and I am getting on _so well!’_ so, really, I had no choice.”

Kyle remains silent as he passes Dan on the board, flashing the bird as he goes. Dan does it back, only to be scolded by a passing teacher on their way to their car. They then turn and tell Kyle, too.

“You know, maybe you can come with me one day.”

“Us going to South Africa by ourselves?” Kyle finally climbs off of the skateboard and sits next to Dan- _right_ next to him, arms brushing and legs pressed together. “Sounds like an accident waiting to happen.”

“An adventure waiting for us. And we won’t stop at Africa, either.” Trying to ignore the fact Kyle is sat right next to him (which makes him feel awful since they have been best friends for as long as each other can remember and now he feels like he’s ruining everything), Dan looks out to the distance and thinks about what the future may hold for them both. “We’ll travel the world. Together. _Dan and Kyle on tour!”_

Kyle watches Dan talk with amusement tugging his face. He loves how passionate Dan gets when he talks about things like this, the way his eyes light up and he seems to get lost in his own words. He seems to disappear to a world completely different from this one.

“And we’ll see _everything,_ Kyle- Paris, New York, the Grand Canyon! Everything. There will not be a country we haven’t seen or a place or a city we haven’t visited. Me and you.”

Although he nods along, Kyle knows there is a very slim chance of this actually happening. He feels like he will have a boring life ahead of him- bills, work, settling down with someone. He wants what Dan is telling him, he really does, but things cost money.

He fiddles with the worn wheels of the skateboard as Dan talks, getting sidetracked and waffling on. Midway through his sentence, Dan stops and looks at his hands.

“You know, I’ve always wanted to learn how to ride a skateboard.” He then says quietly, though he doesn’t really think anything of it. On his sixth birthday, his dad bought him one of those small skateboards to try and get him into more boyish stuff and not music, which the boy continues to love. He took it outside, walked to the flat, concrete car park, put the board down, stood on it, and fell straight off. “Always been too scared to do it.”

He never told that story to Kyle, so, as far as he is concerned, Dan has never been on a skateboard.

“Well, do you trust me?” The skateboarder questions, putting his face closer to Dan’s, but not in a weird way, just in a way that suggests he is going to do something.

He doesn’t pull his face back at all as he continues to look at Kyle, wondering if this might be the time. “You know I trust you,” he mumbles back, his heart thumping in his chest.

Kyle stands up, holding the skateboard in one hand and holding the other out to his best friend. “Come on, then,” he tells him with a mischievous grin, “You might have some crazy, undiscovered secret talent.”

“Six-year-old me falling on my arse might suggest otherwise.”

“You had a skateboard?” When Dan nods, Kyle smiles, trying to suppress a laugh. “And you fell off?”

Once again, Dan nods.

“Well, can’t fall off if you don’t get on.”

A flash of surprise takes over Dan’s face for a moment, “Well, that’s hardly a comforting thing to tell somebody!”

Kyle laughs loudly and then gestures with his free hand for Dan to hold it. He does so, trying to ignore his screaming thoughts.

“Come on, then. Put one foot here, look,” Kyle holds both of Dan’s hands and speaks softly as he points with one of his feet to the spot where Dan should put his. “Be careful, but don’t be scared. I’m here, _I’ve got you.”_

Dan blushes at his words but he can hardly make eye contact with him. The wind is blowing through his hair and it feels _magical,_ it feels like a dream.

“Are you ready?” He almost whispers, still holding Dan’s hands tightly. Kyle is watching every little feature on Dan’s face to make sure he is comfortable. At one point, Dan looks up to him, biting his lip in concentration and somewhat in fear. “Stay still, and trust me.”

Dan stands as still as he possibly can and tries not to jump straight off as Kyle begins to walk slowly, pulling Dan and the board along with him. It feels strangely intimate, and in a way, Dan can imagine this being in a film, probably backed by Sufjan Stevens. Slowly, Kyle begins to move a little bit faster, and then let’s go of Dan’s hands, moving to grab his waist.

“There you go! You’re doing it!” Kyle cheers as the board moves faster. Dan, meanwhile, is trying not to scream. He can’t help but feel like he’s going to fall off. As the board picks up speed, Kyle lets go of Dan, who makes it maybe three metres before falling off.

He pulls a face before he moves to Dan, lying in a heap on the ground. “Shit, sorry. Are you okay?”

It wasn’t a big fall and he didn’t hit his head or anything, so there is no reason to go running over to him.

“Yeah,” the other boy replies, pulling himself together. “Yeah, I’m okay.”

His previous words ring around Kyle’s head, _Dan was scared of falling off,_ and then he feels like a prick for making him do it.

“I’m really sorry, Dan. I shouldn’t have let you go...” He admits sheepishly, an awful feeling of guilt smothering him. “Do you want to try again?”

He reaches a hand out to Dan and helps him up, lingering his hand in Dan’s a little longer than he should.

“It’s fine, seriously. And I don’t really wanna try again.” The boy watches him for a moment, only just letting Kyle’s hand go. “I think this is an omen. I might break my back next time I get on one...”

A smile pulls at Kyle’s lip and he shakes his head. “You’re unbelievable. You really should let me teach you one day,”

“Maybe one day,” Dan shrugs, though he knows that won’t happen. He’s not getting back on a skateboard.

They linger for a moment, and then Dan moves to retrieve the board. “So, do you wanna come round mine for tea?”

And Kyle smiles.

He can’t imagine a world without these stories to tell.


End file.
